How to Convert Numbers File to Google Sheets with CloudConvert

If you use Numbers as well as Google Sheets, you might find yourself in a situation where you need to convert a Numbers file into a Google Sheets document. Whether the Numbers file originated in Numbers on a Mac, iPhone, iPad, or iCloud does not matter, as they’re all the same and you can get them into Google Sheets with a few steps.

Numbers is the Apple spreadsheet app akin to Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. The default Numbers file format differs from Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel, and if you receive the file as an attachment or on a PC, you might see a .numbers file extension rather than something like a more familiar XLS. Because of this, you may run into some compatibility issues if you get a Numbers file that you need to access elsewhere. But not to worry, as we’ll walk you through steps to convert a Numbers file to a format supported by Google Sheets by using something called CloudConvert.

How to Convert a Numbers File to Google Sheets

You will need to upload the Numbers file to Google’s servers using Google Drive, so we’ll start there.

1. Head over to drive.google.com on your web browser and sign in with your Google account. Once you’re in the Google Drive home page, click on “New” located in the left pane.
   
   
2. Next, choose “File upload” from the dropdown menu and find the Numbers file stored on your computer to upload it.
   
   
3. Now, the file you uploaded will show up in Google Drive, as shown here. Right-click on the document, click on “Open with” in the dropdown menu, and choose “CloudConvert”. CloudConverter is an online file conversion service that’s integrated into Google Drive. When you choose CloudConvert, you’ll be asked to sign in with your account before you’re able to convert the file.
   
   
4. Once you’ve logged in, you’ll be taken to the conversion page. Here, use the dropdown as shown in the screenshot below and choose a file format that’s compatible with Google Sheets like “XLS” or “XLSX”. Make sure you’ve checked the option to “Save output files to Google Drive” too and click on “Convert”.

   

5. The file you converted will immediately show up in Google Drive. You’ll also have the option to download the file directly from CloudConvert, but since you’re working on Google Sheets, you don’t need to. In Google Drive, right-click on the converted document, click on “Open with” in the dropdown menu, and choose “Google Sheets”.
   
   

That’s about it, you have converted a Numbers spreadsheet file to a Google Sheets-supported format using CloudConvert.

For what it’s worth, XLS and XLSX are the file formats used by Microsoft Excel, and since those files are supported by Google Sheets, so you’ll be able to share those back and forth easily – and Numbers can open XLS files too.

Another option is available if you have an Apple account, where you can use iCloud.com to convert a Numbers file to XLS or XLSX file formats too. If you don’t happen to have an Apple account, it is pretty easy to create a new Apple ID regardless of what device you use, and it’s basically the login necessary to access the Apple world. But for spreadsheet purposes, you can also use iCloud to quickly open and view the contents of a Numbers spreadsheet from a Windows PC.

To avoid running into platform compatibility issues in the future, you could request your colleagues who use Mac to export the file as an Excel spreadsheet within the Numbers app, and the same can be done via Numbers on iPad and iPhone too.

What do you think of this handy conversion capability in Google Sheets? Did you find another solution? Let us know in the comments what your experiences and thoughts are.